Charlie Shepard

Charlie Shepard was a great running back who played six years in the CFL from 1957 to 1962, all with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Shepard's career coincides exactly with the era of Hamilton vs. Winnipeg Grey Cup battles. The Bombers and the Tiger-Cats met five times in those six year, missing only in 1960. Shepard and the Bombers won four of the meetings and Shepard was a key part of reason. Along with Gary James and Leo Lewis, Shepard gave the Bombers an outstanding running attack. In his second season, Shepard ran for 925 yards, which surprisingly enough was only good for sixth in the West. Of course, the guys in front of him read like a Who's Who with names like Bright, Kwong, Gilchrist and Lewis. Shepard cracked the thousand yard mark in the following year with 1076 yards, good for second in the West, behind only Johnny Bright of Edmonton, and earning Shepard a West All-Star award. Shepard added 718 yards rushing in 1960, good for sixth in the West, in a season when the Winnipeg trio of Lewis, James and Shepard finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in rushing in the West. Shepard finished his CFL career with 3768 yards rushing. Besides being a dangerous running back, Shepard also contributed with his foot. He was one of the bes punters of his time, generally averaging between 4 and 45 yards a kick.